The state of Florida served as the location for a variety of U.S. military training activities during World War II. Pilots and sailors used Florida ports, miles of uninhabited shoreline, and the forests of the state’s interior for military exercises. Marines and Army infantry slogged through Florida marshes and trained for beach assaults. In this image, soldiers training with gas masks are shown on a beach in south Florida. In 1941, Miami was still completely dependent on tourism for its economic livelihood. After the United States entered the ...

Winter tourism became a major factor in the development of Miami and south Florida from the 1920s onward. Development, particularly of hotels, grew apace, with the increasing popularity of this tourism and retirement haven, and much helped by the spread of commercial aviation. By 1940 Miami had about two million vacationers a year. President Harry S Truman was there for the dedication of the Everglades National Park in 1947. Some of the new hotels, such as the 1948 Sherry Frontenac, had fine Art Deco details. This photograph, taken on December ...

Miami Beach has been a showcase of modern architectural styles since the area experienced its first significant building boom in the early 1920s. Characterized by a less decorative, more industrial approach to the Art Deco style that had dominated modern design since 1925, the second phase of Art Deco architecture in the United States featured newer aesthetic trends, particularly Streamline Moderne. This phase reflected the changes in the economic fortunes of the nation as a whole, with less ostentatious flourishes and more distinct departures from older traditions. The style strongly ...